Dog Tags
by ObliqueFireAngel
Summary: SetoJoey Shonen-Ai Oneshot. During Battle City, Joey is taking a break from the tournament when Kaiba shows up. The two have a unique conversation that leads to more than expected and exactly what they want. And it all starts because of a set of dog tags


Disclaimer: I don't own anything here. Not even the plot because the crazy muses that live in my head have already laid claim to it.  
  
A/N Some of you may or may not have noticed this, but in Battle City, Joey wears these army dog tags. Every time he was wearing them and swearing he wasn't a mutt, I just couldn't take Joey seriously. I started laughing at him at one point, though I do feel a little bad about that. Anyway, it was those dog tags that gave me inspiration for the story and my muses took it from there.  
  
This is somewhat AU since I'm not entirely certain when it takes place. It could be that this is after the finals before they leave the island or it could be at another point. You can decide whether or not this is before or after their encounter with Noah.  
  
Dog Tags  
  
Joey stood in silence, alone, up on the dueling platform. He was staring up at the stars, oblivious to anything except his thoughts. Thoughts that were, at the moment, revolving around a certain blue-eyed brunette. Joey had wrapped his fingers in the chain around his neck, clutching the fake army dog tags he wore.  
  
Dog tags. They were so small that most people didn't notice them. In fact, no one seemed to have noticed them, which explained why Joey hadn't been teased. What really bothered the blonde, however, about not having the tags noticed wasn't his friends. He was elated that they hadn't paid enough attention to that particular detail. Kaiba, on the other hand, was a different story. It was Joey's small acknowledgment that he was Kaiba's and the brunette hadn't even noticed.  
  
Joey had been in deep denial about his feelings after Duelist Kingdom, but there was no use denying it now. Not after all the dreams he'd had about Kaiba. Joey had fallen hard for the cold-hearted CEO. He'd fallen for the one man in the world who'd probably never feel anything in return.  
  
To Joey, he was already rejected by the love of his life and it hurt more than he was willing to admit. He couldn't reconcile his feelings on his own and the idea of being rejected for real was more than the blonde wanted to contemplate. So instead of acting on his feelings, Joey stood there, in the cold, and let his mind run in circles.  
  
In fact, he was so absorbed in his thoughts that Joey didn't realize he was being observed until the watcher spoke.  
  
"You'll catch a cold out here, mutt, if you stay here much longer." Kaiba gave him a strange look and Joey felt himself involuntarily shiver in spite of himself. "It's freezing out here. Not even you're dumb enough to stay out here without a reason. Why are you out here anyway?"  
  
Joey walked over to the edge of the platform and sat down on it. "I was thinking."  
  
"You can think? That must be a new trick for you, mutt."  
  
"Can't you just, for once, pretend to be civil towards me?" Joey gave Kaiba an exasperated look. "Can't you, just for once, act like you aren't a stuck up jerk? Because you aren't, I can see past your mask sometimes, when you don't notice me."  
  
"Oh really."  
  
Joey dropped the dog tags from his hand and pulled himself free of the chain. It bounced and hit his chest a few times, lightly hitting a spot above his heart first. 'Oh irony,' Joey thought tiredly. "I'm not stupid, you know," Joey said softly, intently staring into Kaiba's ice-blue eyes. "I know I'm not the brightest crayon in the box, either. You don't need to remind me all the time." Joey pushed himself off the edge of the platform and landed next to Kaiba. "I also came up here to escape the double freight train noise that Duke and Tristen make when they sleep."  
  
If Kaiba was surprised by the abrupt change in topic he hid it well. "So you came out here to escape them and to think about whatever it was that happened to be on your mind."  
  
"And to stargaze." Joey smiled at Kaiba, who looked a bit startled. "I can point out most of the constellations out there and I can actually see more than the Big and Little Dipper and Orion's belt from here. In Domino there's still to much light at night to see much else."  
  
"Why are you out here, Kaiba?" Joey asked after a few moments.  
  
I couldn't sleep," Kaiba shrugged, "I don't entirely know why I came here, though. Its far to cold at night."  
  
"At least you don't have to share your room with two vultures that sound like their own train station."  
  
"Vultures?"  
  
"They've been chasing after my sister. Friends or not, they're vultures until they stop."  
  
"I guess that makes some sense." Kaiba paused and pursed his lips like he was debating with himself about something. "I've been wondering, puppy, why are you wearing dog tags?"  
  
Joey froze and forcefully relaxed himself, or tried to anyway. "It doesn't matter."  
  
"It does to me," was the quick reply.  
  
"Since when does anything I do matter to you?" Joey snapped. There was a short silence and then Joey practically growled the words "thought so." Angry with himself, in part, for actually expecting an answer, Joey walked off towards the elevator.  
  
Joey didn't get far, though. A pair of strong arms latched onto Joey. It was a loose hold, the blonde could free himself if he wanted to, but he didn't want to.  
  
"You're so cold, Joey," Kaiba whispered softly to the blonde. "I don't know when you started to matter to me, puppy. You just did. I can't get you out of my mind."  
  
"When Marik had you under his control, I knew there wasn't anything I could do." Kaiba paused and whispered "there wasn't anything I could do" again before continuing. "You have no idea how much I hated that. The guy that drove me up a wall was standing right there, in trouble, and not only could I not do anything but I wanted desperately to be the one to save you."  
  
Joey was stunned, unable to think through the ecstatic feeling that washed over him.  
  
"I don't know what is I'm feeling for you, though," Kaiba admitted. "Emotions are something I made myself forget. Now that I finally feel again, I don't even know what it is." He paused. "Please, puppy, say something, anything."  
  
Joey twisted himself around in Kaiba's arms and took a deep breath. "I know what it is you feel for me. You see, I feel the same way about you. It's love. If you want, I can try to show you how to love someone."  
  
Kaiba's face had a strange quality to it now. Though it was no different than it had been the first time Joey had first seen him, the brunette had something to it that was almost vulnerable, but not quite.  
  
"I'd like that," Kaiba murmured.  
  
Moving as one, the two teens leaned forward and kissed. The two, twined in each others arms by then, battled each other for control of the kiss, but Kaiba won in the end.  
  
A/N The end. Was it good? Did you like it? Answer those questions and more for me when you review this lovely one-shot. Oh, even if you don't review, thanks for reading another one of my lovely fanfics. 


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